Emmett elevens



E.BLEVENS.

COMBINED STOCKING AND PAD FOR ARTIFICIAL LEGS,

. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 28. I9I8.

1 3 1 9, 637 Patented Oct. 21, 1 919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Mewoqo E. BLEVENS.

comamsu srocxme AND PAD r011 ARTIFICIAL LEGS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 23. I918.

Patentd 001. 21,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- Vw MOT/M0440 ma COLUII'IA ms'uimim cm. WAIIINUTON. n. c.

UNITED ssrArEs orrion.

EMMETT BLEVENS, or LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, ASSIGNQR To THE EMMETT BLEVENS COMPANY, or LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, A ooeronsrIon-or'xnnrncKY.

COMBINED STOCKING AND PA]? FOR ARTIFICIAL LEGS.

Application-filed October 28, 19.18. SeriaLNo. 259,989.

State of Kentucky, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in ilombined Stockings and Pads for Artificial Legs; andI do'deolare, the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the inven- 'tion, such as-willfenable others skilledin the art to which'it appertains to makeanduse the same.

This invention relates to bearings tor the stumps of amputated legs, and 1t relates more particularly to. a combined stocking and pad for. use iii-fitting the'stump 1n the socketof an artificial leg.

One of theolojects of this invention is to minimize as; far as practicable any pressure upon'the portion of the stump of the leg adjacent'to itsend,'and thusavold discomfort and danger of swelling, such as irequentlyresults when such pressure 1s per:

' initted.

Anotherobject is to provide a pad-which is graduallythickened from its bottom portion'upward, in order to compensate for the shrinkage of the leg stump and thus increase the comfort or the wearer.

Another object is. to' provide a deviceoi' this character which is simple of construction and may be manufactured at a comparatively low cost.

Reference is had; to the accompanying drawings in which like'parts are indicated by similar'reference symbols throughout the Figurel is a side elevation of a leg stump .havingzthe inner sock of my improved bearingcthereon, the outer sock being shown as collapsed about the lower portion of the leg stump, the elastic pad being omitted, and'parts being broken away.

Fig. 2. isla viewsomewhatsimilar toFIig. 1, with'the elastic padlnfplace, partsbeing shown: as broken away, andthe lower part of the stump-socks being shown in vertical section.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view corresponding to Figs- 1 and 2, but shows all the parts in proper relation, an artificialltoot and. leg

indicated in tines.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 21, I919.

FigzA shows a transverse section of the device along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3. i

Fig. 5 is a view somewhat similar to Fig. 4, illustrating the relation of'the, same elements fitting upon a leg-stump. of. somewhat smaller circumference.

'Fig. 6 isa side elevation-ofthe elasticpad extended. j p Q V Fig. 7 is a'sectional view along'the line 77 otFigr6. 1

Fig. 8 shows a section alongthe line 8'8 of Fig.6 and Fig, 9 is a fraginental view, partly in vertical section, ofa somewhat modified form of the invention, showing anincreased number of thicknesses in the leg-of the sock.

The inner stump-sock is in the form of a tapering bag closed at. the small end 13 and open. at the upper end, and isiindicated by the numeral 10; the outer SillllIlP SOClI 11 being secured to or made integral with-the inner stump-sock at 12' 'Breferably, the junction 12 is formed by interweaving or inter-knittingthe lower end ofthe outer sock to. a portion of the inner sock at a slightdistance above the lower closed end 13 of the latter; The distance fromthe junction 12 to the lower end may be from one to several inches; but the distance should not exceed that which is necessary to allow perfect freedom of the end of the stump; that is, the comparatively tender and sensitive portion of the stump should not be touched by any part ofthebearing exceptthe single thickness of woven or knitted fabric which constitutesthe lower end portion 13 of the inner sock.

The outer sock and the major portion of the inner sock combine to 01111 a pad which is thicker than the portion l3, and this tends to provide a space between'said portion 13 and the inner wall of the artificial leg. However, the space or pressure relief thus provided is-usually inadequate; and more over, the bearing thus provided by the inner and outer socks has not sufficient rigidity or solidity to obtain the best results when the usual fastening strap; or clamp is so cnredthereon foriattaching the artificial leg to the bearing provided. r v o This has is shown in detail. and detached Therefore, "the pad 14 is in Figs, 6, 7 and 8, and is shown applied in Figs. '2, 3, 4 and 5. It is preferably 'const-ructed of a sheet of sponge-rubberhaving its edges formed with a wide bevel. When the pad is applied to the stump, two of these bevel edges may meet or approxi tic material such as wovenor knitted fabric,

will readily conform to leg-stumps of different sizes, and the elastic pads 14 may be made of different sizes,so that the proper size may be selected for fitting any particular size or shape of leg. When the proper size has been selected and placed around the inner sock, and the stump inclosed therein, as shown in Fig. 2, the outer sock 11 is drawn up over or around the elastic pad 14., and thus holds the elastic pad in its position around the stump.

When the artificial leg is placed over the leg-stump, as shown in Fig. 1, its upper portion embraces the pad or bearing which is formed by the several thicknesses of material of the inner and outer socks and the intermediate pad, so that the lower end of the stump is disposed concentric with the shell or socket of the artificial leg; or, in other words, there is an air space surrounding the lower lower end portion of the inner stump-sock.

The pad 14 is preferably formed with beveled edges 15 and 16 which wholly or partly overlap one another, with the lower edge 17, the upper edge 18 substantially parallel to the lower, and oblique edges 19 and 20.

The upper edge 18 preferably extends to the knee-cap,which prevents the pad from working upward, while the oblique edges 19 and 20 preferably diverge upwardly to allow freedom of action of the leg muscles, back of the knee.

Although I have shown the upper and lower edges 17 and 18 curved, which is the preferable shape, this is not an essential feature. Moreover, although sponge-rubber with smooth faces is the preferable material for forming the pads 14, my invention is not restricted to the use of sponge-rubber, as other suitable elastic material may be used as desired. V V

Itoften occurs that the leg-stump shrinks "to a size considerably less than the original size, and in order that it may be artifically restored to approximately its former size, and atthe same time provide an extra thick padding to compensate for the absence of I flesh upon the bones and sinews of the stump, I may provide one or more additional stump sock legs, as illustrated at 10 and .11 in Fig. 9, but with a single covering an'outer stump-sock having an open lower end, the inner and outer stump-socks being joined together at the extreme lower end of the latter, the junction of said inner and outer socks being at a slight distance above the olosedlower end of the inner sock, and a sheet of elastic material removably mounted between the legs of said outer and inner socks, substantially as described.

2. A-stunip-legbearing comprising an inner stump-sock having a closed lower end, an outer stump-sock having an open lower end, the inner and 'outerstump-socks being joined together at the extreme lower end of the latter, the junction of said inner and outer socks being at a slight distance above the closed lower end of the inner sock, and

a sheet of sponge-rubber removably mounted between the legs of said outer and inner socks, substantially as described.

3. A stump-leg-bearing comprising an inner stump-sock having a closed-lower end,

an outer stump-sock having an open lower end, the inner and outer stump-socks being joined together at the extreme lower end of the latter, the junction of said. inner and outer socks being at a slight distance above the lower end of the inner sock, and

stumps in artificial legs,compris1ng an inner sock in the form of a tapering bag of elastic fabric closed at its small end and open at its upper end, the small end being adapted to fit over the end of the stump, and the large end to be drawn over the knee of the wearer, and one or more socklegs open at the top and secured at the bottom to said inner sock above the closed end thereof, whereby a single thickness is provided to go over the sensitive portion of the stump of the wearer, and a padding efiect is secured at the bearing portion of the appliance, substantially as described.

5. A surgical appliance adapted for use in a bearing for supporting amputatedleg stumps in artifical legs, comprising an oblong sheet of sponge rubber having smooth inner and outer faces, and beveleded'ges, the

ripper and lower edges being substantially means for holding said pad in place on the parallel, and the end beveled edges being stump of the wearer, substal'ltially as deadapted to overlap to form a smooth conscribed.

tinuous band around the stump of the In testimony whereof I have hereunto set wearer, and the upper edges being cut away my hand.

at thecorners to leave clearance for the V muscles behind the knee of the wearer, with EMMETT BLEVENS.

Uopie: of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

